The Happiest Moment
by Cloud Maxwell
Summary: Chapter 5 up. Rin fights with Akari.
1. Default Chapter

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A note from me:

  I do NOT own any of the characters in this fic. Squaresoft, and Square Electronic Arts hold all rights to them. If you sue me, you will get no money, because I HAVE NONE!!

Note to readers: If all you wussies are sensetive to "sexual references" turn back now, forget the first chapter, and read the second. This chapter is as explicit as I will ever get.

  I want to give a brief summary of what's going on here:

      Two months have elapsed since the death of Ultimecia, and Squall and Rinoa are about to be married (if you don't know where the wedding ceremony is being held, you either haven't played FFVIII, or you need help). Something BIG interrupts the ceremony.

      Well, that's about it in a nutshell. Enjoy.

Chapter One: Old friends, new situations

      Closer. She wanted to be closer. She pulled him close, and kissed him passionately, fulfilling her desire. She felt the button rip from her shirt, and his hand slide up and cup one of her soft, round breasts. She sighed as his hands moved down from her breasts, to her hips, sliding her pink skirt off. Even as her skirt dropped to her ankles, she unzipped his pants, his shirt already off. She stepped back for a moment, and admired Squall Leonhart, as he stood, revealed to her. Now he was ready, and she pulled him close, feeling him poking at her belly, his hands sliding down her back to her buttocks. Suddenly, he lifted her, and placed her on her table, in her small dorm room in Balamb Garden's dorm area. She leaned back as his hands moved down her thighs from her hips, sliding up underneath her knees, and bringing them upwards. It was time, and she was ready.....Ready to share herself with the man she loved. This she thought, and gasped as he entered her. 

      For what seemed like hours, they made love. They did it slowly, passionately, because it was not the kind of thing to be rushed. Finally, she began to feel him pulse inside her, and was excited into her own orgasm. This is it...she thought.....

      .....and woke up.

Quistis Trepe sat up on her sweat soaked bed and looked around, temporarily confused. She had been on the table a moment ago. Now she was on the bed......

      Vaguely, she was aware that the area between her legs was throbbing in ecstasy, and she realized what had happened. 

"Dammit," she muttered,"I thought it was real," and rolled over onto her side. Looking at her clock for a moment, taking in the numbers, 12:43, she thought. She thought about Squall. She thought about his presence, his touch. She thought about them entwined together, sharing passion, and realized it couldn't be real.

      Squall loved Rinoa, and Rinoa loved Squall. Quistis loved Squall, and Seifer loved Quistis. Oh, it was all so confusing. She had been dating Seifer for the past couple of weeks, even though their first couple of dates had not gone well. She was beginning to like Seifer, even though he was immature, and she could see that he was trying his hardest to impress her. Sometimes, he was so cute in the way that he would try to talk romantically, and end up saying something sexual. Quistis laughed at the thought. Yet she still couldn't get her mind off Squall. Squall and Rinoa are getting married..Quistis thought..Get a grip. She needed something to clear her head, so she got up, and started getting dressed in a tight jumpsuit the color of her pink dress, intent on heading for the Training Center.

Meanwhile...elswhere in Garden.

      Quistis was not the only person awake that night a Balamb Garden. Squall Leonhart and Rinoa Heartilly lay in Squall's bed, holding each other tightly, staring into each other's eyes.

"I love you," Squall spoke up.

Rinoa smiled,"I love you too."

"Say it like you mean it," Squall said, mock seriously.

Rinoa giggled,"Oh, you're terrible," and playfully slapped at his face.

"Hmm. Maybe worse than you think," he said, and kissed her.

Rinoa felt one of his hands sliding up her tank-top shirt, while the other slid down her tight black shorts. She arrested his movement.

"Not yet... Please?" she whispered, seeing the disappointment in his eyes. She wanted it too, but it was the wrong time. Something just wasn't right tonight. She felt like they were being watched, yet she didn't know why.

"Fine," Squall said, and slid his right hand around to her lower back, while the other went upward, still under her shirt, and around her neck. And so they slept finally, holding each other.

At the Training Center.....

      Quistis walked along the wooden bridge staring into the water, and watching the different monsters sleep. Some of them, like T-Rexsaurs, and Grats, were still awake, running around, battling each other, the latter usually losing. The moon shone brightly in the water, through the open sun roof of Balamb Garden. She stared at it, contemplating her feelings for Squall. She became so entranced with the water, that she ran right into Seifer, who had been watching her for some time.

"Whoa, watch it Instructor," Seifer said, stumbling backward.

"Sorry," Quistis said,"I was looking at the water, and I didn't even see you!"

"That's okay," Seifer said,"running into you didn't exactly hurt me..." he trailed off.

She smiled."Seifer, have you given any thought to our relationship?"

"Oh yeah, I've been thinking a lot about it," he said with a devilish grin.

She frowned,"And?"

"Well, uh, can we go somewhere else?" he looked nervous.

"Like where?" here eyes narrowed.

"Away from Balamb," he answered immediately.

"You mean Garden?" she was pleasantly surprised.

"No, I mean Balamb as a whole. Let's just get out of here for a while, spend some time.."

"How do you plan on leaving Balamb?" she asked," We just got done relocating Garden, and planting it again, and the Ragnarok is still running missions between Deling City and Esthar. How do you plan on even going to Balamb city? At night it's too dangerous..."

"Shhh." he interrupted. "Look, I've got my own ship. I purchased it in Esthar, from that weird guy, Laguna,"

"You have your own ship!!??" Quistis was incredulous.

It was his turn to smile. "Yes, I do, and I would like you to come with me."

"Where?" She was still in shock.

"To my favorite place..." he said, and grabbed her hand, and led her off, out of the Training Center, and out of Garden.

Later..Somewhere near the Fire Cavern

"You brought me all the way out here just to show me the Ragnarok?" Quistis roared.

"Sorry Quisty, but it ain't the Ragnarok," Seifer grinned.

"What the hell do you call it then?" Quistis was angry.

"Fire Cross," Seifer proudly stated.

"Where did it come from?" she asked.

"Well, as you might have heard, they launched three of them to carry Adel into space, and the Ragnarok wasn't the only one to return intact." 

"Really?"

"Actually," he continued," this one returned before the Ragnarok. The Ragnarok was the latest in showing up. There were three. One was the Ragnarok, the other the Hydra, and this one, the Basilisk, but I renamed it Fire Cross."

"Well, what are we waiting for?"

"What?" he asked.

"Duh. Come on. Let's go!" she exclaimed.

"Oh, yeah." he slapped his head, and produced a remote control crystal from his trenchcoat. At his mental command, the Fire Cross's boarding platform lowered, and he and Quistis got on. 

Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, Quistis embraced him, and kissed him, full on the lips. At first, he was shocked, but he found himself kissing her back.

The next morning, on the third floor of Balamb Garden

      Squall and Rinoa stood, waiting eagerly for news of Quistis. Headmaster Cid stood apart from them, talking into a nearby comm. console. The elevator outside the room chimed, and Selphie Tilmitt and Irvine Kinneas burst into the room.

"Seifer's gone too," Irvine gasped, out of breath. "I checked with Fujin and Raijin."

"They hadn't seen him since early last night," Selphie added.

Cid turned around, "Now everyone, I know you're concerned, but I have some news for you,"

"WHAT!!??" all four shouted in unison.

Cid flinched, "Uh, it seems that a ship not unlike the Ragnarok was spotted just outside of the Fire Cavern taking off this morning, at about two o'clock."

"So what did Quistis have to do with it?" Rinoa asked.

"Well, hold on, I have more to say," Cid sounded hurt. "We ran a check on the ship, and found out that it's called the Fire Cross, and is owned by one Seifer Almasy, purchased from the Esthar government."

"I'm going after him!" Squall said, and started for the door.

"NO!!" Cid's shout made Squall flinch and turn around.

"I'll have no such thing! I already have people on it, and you and Rinoa are to be married later on today. I had this all worked out, and Garden is prepared to uproot again, and move to my selected ceremony spot. I WON'T HAVE THIS PLAN GO wrong," Cid's voice suddenly gave out.

"Yeah Squall. If Quistis were in any real danger, she'd know what to do." Irvine said.

"I agree," Selphie said.

"Me too," said Rinoa.

"Besides," came Zell Dincht's voice from behind them, "If you rush into it, and Quistis really IS in trouble, then you might end up getting her hurt, as well as yourself."

They all greeted Zell, and listened for him to continue.

"Rinoa?" "I made that ring that you wanted. Here," he said, and handed her a smaller copy of the Greiver ring that Squall always had on his necklace. Rinoa inspected it, then handed it back to Zell.

"What, did I do somethin' wrong?" Zell asked, panicking.

"No! Not at all," Rinoa soothed. "It's just..I want you to be our best man."

"Really!? Yours and Squall's best man!?" "WOW!" Zell did a backflip, and hit his head on the roof of the door, which had been just behind him. He landed clumsily on his rear, and rubbed his crown, which prompted a laugh from everyone.....even Squall.

That night, at the Cafeteria

"And guess what Akari? Rin made me best man!"Zell exclaimed. It was close to curfew time, and AkariYoshida was listening to the endless ramble of words escaping Zell's mouth, while staring around the deserted Cafeteria. It was sad, really. She liked Zell a lot, but he could get annoying.

"Well, I'm happy for you Zell," she spoke up.

"Really? Thanks, well anyway, back to Seifer and Quistis..." She listened as he droned on again, about the guy in the grey trenchcoat, and that intense instructor woman. She really didn't care about any of it right now. All she knew throughout her body was that she was tired, and Zell was keeping her from bed. If he would not let up soon, she wasn't sure what she would do to shut him up.

"What do I look like to you?" she seethed.

"Uh...." he stopped right in the middle of his speech about Ragnarok's sister ship.

"Seriously. What do I look like to you?" her tone icy.

"A tall, young, attractive brunette, with.....uh...lily green eyes?" he said, mistaking her meaning.

"No, I mean, do you think I'm just some kind of machine for you to pour all your thoughts into?"

"Uhuumm. No. I never, ever thought of you as a robot!" he exclaimed.

"Oh, Zell, you're so stupid. That's why I love you." Akari said, and pulled Zell across the table, and kissed him.

"Good night, Zell." she said, and left the Cafeteria. Zell was left speechless, his mouth still open from the kiss she had given him.

Akari, very pleased with herself, headed for the dorm, and bumped into a guy in a nice cowboy gettup.

"Well, hello, I don't think we've met before," the young man said smoothly. Now she recognized him. He was one of Zell's friends.

"Yes we have, Irvine Kinneas. Last time we met, you grabbed my ass, and it got you in a shitload of trouble with Zell," she said, mildly irritated.

"My my, don't we have a dirty mouth," Irvine smiled, and put his index finger under her chin.

Irvine sat up on the ground,"What the hell just happened?" Akari looked down.

"I just threw you over my shoulder!" she was exuberant.

"Damn girl, that hurt!" Irvine drawled.

"You'll get over it," she said, and stalked off.   end

(Cocky pose) What did you think of the FIRST chapter in my FIRST fic? I know a lotta you liked it. For those who didn't.....(Ironic Shrug) . I must warn readers ahead of time, this fic will be long. If you're the kind of people who like to read fics between 8-17 chapters long, you might want to turn back. This one will at least span 30 chapters. Well, actually, I'm trying to outdo a friend of mine who goes by the name of P.A.R., and writes in the Harry Potter section. She posted a fic that is FORTY NINE chapters long. I'll try, however, to break that limit, or limit that break.......whatever.....Frickin' hell!

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	2. Vacation for Two

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Little note from me:

      I don't own any Final Fantasy VIII characters. Squaresoft and Square electronic arts owns all rights to them. Oh, and Squaresoft? Try to sue me? I don't have ANY MONEY. 

Chapter Two: Vacation for Two

..sigh..Quistis Trepe was bored, sitting in the spacious cockpit of the Fire Cross, watching Seifer Almasy manipulate the controls. 

"Where are we going?" Quistis asked for the fourth time.

"You'll see," Seifer answered the same for the..fourth....time.

..sigh..She stood up from her seat, and walked to the elevator.

Seifer didn't even notice as she pressed the DOWN button, and the elevator lowered. Once off the elevator, Quistis headed right, towards the passenger area. She had always thought that the best part of the Ragnarok, which was identical to this ship. The door slid open, and Quistis looked around for a place to sit...only to find there was none. Instead of seats, like there were on Ragnarok, the entire center of the area was taken up by a holo-table, desinged for showing complex maps for battle plans. 

"I had the place remodled a bit," Seifer's voice surprised her.

"I'll say," she murmered, then suddenly realized something.

"Seifer, if you're here, then...WHO'S FLYING THE SHIP?" Quistis was frantic.

"Easy. This thing has autopilot," Seifer answered cooly.

Relaxed now, Quistis looked around,"Seifer, if you plan battles here, why isn't there a decent place to sit?"

"Why do you always have to question everything I do?" Seifer frowned.

"I question everything everyone does. I do not discriminate," Quistis smirked. 

Seifer shrugged, and pressed a button on the wall. Instantly, a bed unfolded in one of the corners of the room.

"See? Like I said, I had it remodled...a bit." Seifer said.

Quistis walked over, and sat on the bed, and patted the area next to her with her hand, motioning for Seifer to join her. He took off his grey trenchcoat, and hung it on a rung near the door, then came over, and sat down next to her. 

"Okay. For the fifth time, where are we going?" Quistis gave him a look.

"Allright. I was savin' it for a surprise, but we're headed to Centra," Seifer said sadly.

"Centra? But, why on Earth would we be headed there?" Quistis frowned, her eyebrows furrowing.

"Well, uh, it's my favorite place, the Centra Ruins." Seifer ran his hand through his hair.

"Oh! I've been there with Squall and Rinoa. That's where we found..." Quistis trailed off.

"What?" Seifer was curious.

"Oh, nothing," she said whistfully.

"No, I mean it. What did you find?" Seifer nudged her.

"We found Odin there," she answered.

"What the hell's an Odin?" 

Quistis blanched, "You don't remember?"

"No! I don't have no frickin' idea of what the hell you're going on about, so just spit it!"

"Odin was a lengendary Guardian Force. He rode on a mighty steed, and carried a sword called the Zanetsuken, that no foe could dodge." Quistis sighed, "When we, um, fought with you at Lunatic Pandora, Odin came to help us. He tried to kill you, but you ended up killing him instead. You really don't remember?"

"Quisty, we've been over this a million times. I don't remember anything from the day I took Deling hostage, to the day that I found myself lying on Balamb's beach, alongside Fujin and Rage. The rest is just a big blank." Seifer said.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Quistis was shocked.

"Fine. But, anyway, getting back to our subject. I was spending some time alone, after buying this here ship, and I ran into the Centra Ruins. I mean, there were these increadibly tough monsters there, but at the top, next to the demon statue.....that is the most beautiful place on Earth," Seifer was staring out the window now.

Quistis gave him a wry look, "A demon statue is the most beatiful place on Earth?"

"No! I mean the stars, and the desert landscape, and the mountains. Everthing in that area is so dead, and peaceful." Seifer sighed.

"Look, Seifer, I know we have our differences, but we can make the best of this relationship!" Quistis hugged his arm.

"How bout' we start now?" he whispered, and kissed her.

She broke the kiss and giggled, "You sure this thing's built well?"

Seifer frowned, "Of course it is. Some of Esthars best technitions worked on this ship!"

"I was referring to the bed...." Quistis pulled him down with her.

      The air was sweet. The wind blew in her hair. Cid couldn't have picked a more beatiful day for their wedding. Rinoa Heartilly stepped out of Edea Kramer's old house on the Cape of Good Hope. My God, she thought, my last name will be Leonhart. She looked down the steps, and saw her father, General Caraway, there, standing, waiting to give her away. He never had me until recently, she thought wryly. The General and his daughter hadn't exactly had the best of relationships until she had fallen in love with Squall. Being in love had just made her so.....happy....fulfilled. Her father took her arm, and led her down the path to Rinoa's favorite place. This is where Squall and I promised. Tables and chairs had been set up in the area, in place of the usual strewn rubble. A long, red carpet covered the ground, leading to.....Rinoa's breath caught up in her throat as she saw Squall standing there, in front of the magnificent field of flowers, with Cid standing behind him, holding an ancient Bible. Laguna stood to Squall's left, smiling, and to Squall's right, just right of where she would be standing, was Zell. But Rinoa's attention was on Squall. He was dressed in his finest SeeD uniform ever. In fact, it reminded her of the White Seeds' uniforms.....mostly because of its color. His LionHeart gunblade hung, deactivated, at his side, on a catch. This was the man she was about to marry, about to spend her life with, and she was so happy. She turned and looked at her father.

"Go on. Do what makes you happy"

"Thank you.........Daddy." she forced herself to say. His face lit up.

"Rin, that's the first time you've called me that," he whispered, his eyes glistening.

She smiled, and parted from him, heading up to where Squall stood. When she got there, she faced him. When she saw the look on his face, she couldn't help but cry.

"Um...dearly beloved...um...we are gathered here today..." Cid fumbled with the words.

"To make these two little upstarts suffer!" a harsh voice screamed.

"What the hell!?" Squall was alarmed. Rinoa saw it first. The statue erected behind Cid had transformed into the terrible visage of the last person she expected to see alive.

Adel, Rinoa thought, seconds before the evil sorceress grabbed Cid with one hand, and threw him into a pillar, breaking it in half. The pillar toppeled, and landed on top of  Cid, who had falled to the ground like a brick. Squall was quick, though, and drew his LionHeart. He activated it, and began to junction a GF. Adel was faster, and swiped with one of her tremendous claws, knocking the LionHeart from Squall's grip.

"Where in the heck did you come from?" cried Laguna, who was right behind Squall, holding a large machine gun.

"You weakling humans really thought you had killed me?" Adel chortled. " You simply weakened me, but enabled me to make the full transition into compressed time, from which I have come. Do you now see the err of your ways?"

"The only err here, is you, bitch!" Squall was furious, after what Adel had done to Cid.

"You have no weapon, SeeD! You are defensless. As is your former future wife!" Adel screeched, and leapt at Rinoa.

Same time, Centra Ruins

"Mmmm. That....was....good," Quistis Trepe sighed.

"My God, Quisty, I had no idea that...." Seifer gasped, still catching his breath.

"What, you didn't think I had any expierience?" She smirked.

"Well, uh, no!" he furrowed his eyebrows.

"You were right," she cooed.

"Huh? You mean, you're a.." 

"Shhhhh." She stopped him midsentence, and kissed him so hard he thought she was trying to draw him into her. He started to feel warm again.

"Mmmmmm. Looks like you're ready for another go," Quistis almost purred. The landing klaxon sounded.

"Oh, shit! I had the ship on autopilot!" Seifer seethed, and got up.

"Dammit, Seifer. Can't you ignore the fucking alarm!?" Quistis hissed. Seifer turned around in shock.

"Watch...your mouth, Instructor," he said, putting a finger on her full, red lips.

"Oh hell. I've told you not to call me that! Call me Quistis, or Quisty!" she roared.

"You best get dressed. We're headed outside," Seifer said, and raced off to the cockpit, still trying to put on his clothes. Quistis snorted, and began to gather her clothes.

      Ten minutes later Quistis stepped down the boarding ramp of the Fire Cross, and saw Seifer waiting for her on the ground.

"What's your problem, Almasy?" She slapped him on the back.

"Quiet. Something's wrong," he said cryptically.

"Yeah, you and your additude!" she exploded.

"Shhhhhhhhh. I'm serious, baby, something's wrong," he turned to look at her.

"What?" she whispered, suddenly worried.

"Well, about five minutes ago, when I came down the ramp, I was greeted by a host of Behemoths, that fled up the tower when they saw me," he answered.

"Oh, well that's no big deal. The Behemoths were just scared of you," Quistis chuckled.

"No, Quisty. Behemoths don't scare, and they aren't indigenous to this area. Also, Behemoths don't travel in groups. I think that there is some strange doing in this," he explained. Suddenly, a sharp sound filled their ears, making both of them cup their hands over them momentarilly.

"What the hell was that?" Seifer whispered to Quistis after a few seconds. Quistis considered his question, then it dawned on her.

"Oh..shhhiiit!" she cursed.

"What!?" he was alarmed.

"When Squall, Rin, and I fought the Ultima Weapon underground, the rocks resonated before the thing surfaced," she said, starting to shake all over.

"What's an Ultima Weapon?" Seifer asked innocently. As if on cue, the Ultima Weapon landed right in front of them.

"Holy shit!" Seifer screamed, and ran. Quistis did the same. The Ultima Weapon brought its sword down on Seifer, but hit only bare ground. Great, Seifer thought, it chose me as a target. He reached out, and searched for a GF to junction. Bahamut should do, Seifer thought, and reached out to the GF, only to find it already junctioned. Squall usually used Bahamut, but, today was his wedding. He shouldn't have to junction a GF, unless. The idea finally came to rest in his mind. Something had happened to Squall, and Seifer was betting that the two incidents were linked. He tried reaching out to Eden, the most powerful GF, but found he couldn't junction it. For some reason, all the GF's were in pain, and wouldn't be junctioned. Oh great, Seifer thought, without a GF, i'm... He turned around, and saw the glint of Ultima Weapon's blade slicing through the air at him.

Holy crap! It looks like everybody is in trouble. I really hate leaving people on cliffhangers, whether it's in storytelling, or fanfic, but that's that. You have to wait until chapter 3 comes out to see what happens. Sit tight, it's comming soon to a Fanfiction.net near you!

ot let up soon, she wa¤koo(t(…( 


	3. The Fall

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šNote: I can't keep making up silly things for another 49 chapters! I don't own Squaresoft's characters. I just use them to entertain people.

Another note: Whew! That last chapter was tense! I'll bet you can't wait to see what happens. In fact, I'll bet most of you just skipped over these notes, just to get to the main text (laughs). In case you have'nt noticed, this fic will be 52 chapters long. Yeah, that's long. Yeah, I know there are probably spelling mistakes here and there, but you picky people can do NOTHING about it.

Chapter 3: The Fall

      Seifer Almasy screamed as Ultima Weapon's sword came rushing down at him. He quickened his pace, but it was too late. He felt the concussion of the hit, then the terrible burn, as his brain realized his flesh had been cleaved. Quistis! was his last thought as he hit the mud, then blacked out.

      Quistis Trepe was safe, however, hiding behind a very large rock nearby. She watched in horror as the Ultima Weapon brought its blade down on Seifer, and as Seifer splashed down in the mud below it. Stay here Quistis, she rationalized, you can't do anything for him if you're dead. But what if he's dead? No, it was too much a chance to take to rush out, and challenge the Weapon. Ultima Weapon regarded its fallen prey, then lifted off, flying to the top of Odin's old tower, giving Quistis the chance to check Seifer. She ran over to his fallen form, and checked his pulse. Even as she did, he groaned, and tried to get up. 

"Seifer, no!" she said, " it might have broken your back, and you might injure yoursel..."

"Shit...." Seifer groaned, interrupting her. For the first time, she looked at the damage Weapon had done. She had to bite her lip as she saw the gash in his back, running from his left shoulder to his right hip. It didn't look as if any of his internal organs, but his spinal column was visible, which made her worry.

"God damn.....thing," Seifer spat, and stood up.

"No!" She cried.

"What? What's wrong with you?" he snarled.

"Seifer, you have a huge gash in your back, and your spinal column is showing!" she warned.

"Wha? Shit. I don't feel a god damn thing." Seifer wheezed.

"Probably because of endorphines. C'mon, let's get you back to Fire Cross," she took him by the arm, and led him back to the ship, looking around for signs of any monsters, or Weapon.

Cape of Good Hope, same time.

      Rinoa Heartilly screamed, as the wicked, scythe-like hand of Adel the Sorceress descended upon her. Squall lept in front of Rinoa, and held his arms out. He took the blow full on. The claws of Adel's hand drove through him, quite forcefully, until they extended out on the other side of him. Squall gasped. He had never felt so much pain in his life. Adel grinned, knowing she had achieved what she had come for. Deep down, he even knew she was right. He was going to die from these wounds. The very thought scared him, as he heard Rinoa scream again, this time, his name. Adel withdrew her claws from his torso. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as he fell to his knees.

"Noooooo!!" Came Laguna's shout from behind him, then came gunfire.

Irvine's gunfire soon joined in, as he had pulled his Exeter from his trenchcoat. Adel reached back, and threw a wave of sharp spikes into the croud, scattering them, and distracting her foes long enough so that she opened a time dialation portal, and withdrew herself into the Time-Compressed world.

"Squall!" Rinoa ran to his side, and took him in her arms, which he collapsed into.  
"Oh, Squall. Please! Please don't die on me!" she pleaded, tears already flowing freely.

"Heuhhh, Rin.." he wheezed, and he knew he had a punctured lung.

"Don't talk, Squall, save your strength!" came Laguna's voice. Squall ignored his father.

"Rinoa....I had...to save you.." he coughed up blood.

"No...uhn...Squall, please, don't do this to me.." Rinoa sobbed.

"You're all that's...important to me..." he managed a smile. Squall began to shake uncontrollably, death was approaching.

"Rinoa...I...I......love...you..." one last breath escaped Squall Leonhart's body, then he was still.

"Squall?" Rinoa shook him.

"Squall?"

"Rinoa....he's gone." came Zell's voice from behind her. She turned around, and saw his face too was streaked with many tears, as was Laguna's. She looked down at Squall, his eyes glazed over, staring happily up at her. Then she saw herself, covered in Squall's blood, and let out a blood curdling scream. 

"Come on Rinoa, let's go," Laguna said, and picked Rinoa up. He guided her with his arm around her shoulder, away from Squall's body, and towards Matron's house. Rinoa heard someone crying off to her right, and turned around. There, on the floor, was Selphie, bent over Irvine, who was propped up on his side, by a spike protruding from his chest. His eyes were like Squall's, cold, and staring. He was dead. Selphie looked up at Rinoa, not paying mind to the spike imbeded in her shin.

"I...(sniff)...didn't even get to say...(sniff) ...goodbye. He just....diiiied!" Selphie wailed. Seeing Irvine dead, and Selphie crying brought Rinoa into a fresh wave of tears. Edea Kramer appeared from seemingly nowhere,  knelt down next to Selphie, and embraced her, letting the young woman cry on her shoulder. Selphie rambled on about Irvine being a good person despite his reputation as a jerk. At last, Laguna stopped at the edge of the path, and told her to stay there, while he looked for Kiros and Ward, who, supposedly had been told to guard the entrance to the Cape. Rinoa looked around, feeling lost, and screamed, seeing her father prone on the ground. One of Adel's spikes had driven clean through his head, and now pinned him to the ground. It was at that time that Rinoa Heartilly fainted.

(*Choke*) I, um, kinda cried. Don't hate me. It had to be done. I didn't do it because I enjoyed it, because I didn't, but it just has to work out that way. Yeah, I know this chapter was about half as long as the last, but I thought I should just leave it at that. Chapter 4 will be up soon. Please review.

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'8Kyz 


	4. The Aftermath

Note: Sorry it took so long to post 4th chapter. Here it is.

            The light was dim save for the bit of red light that shone on his face. His eyes finally focused, and he looked around, taking in his dark surroundings. Next came an odd sensation. Something was laying next to him on the.....bed. He groped with his hands, and found someone's lips. This someone obviously had very soft, pouty lips. He knew suddenly who the person was. He moved his hand up, from the person's face, to their hair. The hair was soft, so that is slid through his fingers easily. 

"Mmmm," the only other person on the ship with him sighed, and woke up. Quistis Trepe pushed herself closer to Seifer Almasy, caressing his back.

"Ahhh." Seifer complained.

"Seifer!? You're awake!" she sounded happy.

"Yeah, but I feel like shit," he muttered.

"Are....are you okay. I mean, the wound wasn't real bad, but I was worried." she began to stroke his spiky blonde hair.

"Yeah. I'm fine. I had a good caretaker," he smiled in the darkness.

They both sighed, and were quiet for a moment.

"Where are we going?" Seifer asked suddenly.

"Ugh. I set a course for the Cape of Good Hope. Everyone should be there still," she explained.

"It'll be good. I'll get a chance to see Matron," he said thoughtfully.

"How long has it been now?" she asked him.

"Two whole months. We missed their wedding....." he trailed off.

She knew who he was talking about, "We'll just have to apologize to Squall and Rin," she answered.

"I'm going to go see how far away from the Cape we are. Where's the light?" he felt around. The light suddenly went on, and he turned back to Quistis, who was holding his control crystal. 

"You learn fast," he smirked. He untangled himself from Quistis, and got up to get changed into some clothes. Quistis knew what was coming as soon as he saw his clothes.

"God dammit! That stupid son of a bitch Weapon!" Seifer roared. He came around the corner from the holo table holding his grey trenchcoat.

"I liked this damned trenchcoat! God damn Weapon thing. Son of a bitch!" he cursed.

"You really liked that coat, didn't you?" she remarked.

"That's the fifth damn one that's been ruined!" he wove an intricate pattern with his hands, above his head.

"You have more of them?" she looked at him as if he were a fool.

"Wuh? Yeah! But I really liked that one!" he said sullenly. A pillow hit him in the back of the head as he turned around to get dressed.

Cape of Good Hope: same time.

            The bathtub was warm, and bubbly, and red. The occupant of the tub sat there, waiting to die, tears streaking her face. For the fifth time, Rinoa Heartilly....not Leonhart....she thought painfully, checked her wrist, and snorted in dissapointment at the lack of blood flow from it. 

"Rinny? Are you in here?" Selphie's now hoarse voice came from the unlocked door.

"Selphie! Uh... go away! Leave me alone!" Rinoa stumbled through her words.

"Oh, come on Rinny, we all feel terrible about Squall but....holy shit!" Selphie saw the bathwater, and Rinoa's wrist, and made the connection.

"Selphie....I..." Rinoa began.

"Oh you shut up!" Selphie said, and pressed a nearby towel against Rinoa's left wrist, which had been striken with a sharp tool. 

"Damnit Selphie! Just let me go! Squall meant everything, and now he's gone and....." she began crying.

"I'm not going to let you die like this Rinoa! Squall sacrificed himself to save you! It'll be for nothing if you do this!"

"Hey! Selphie! Did you manage to cheer 'Noa up?" Zell's voice now came from the open door. Instead of warding Zell off, Selphie tugged Rinoa from the bathtub, and wrapped the bloody towel around her.

"What the hell's going on?" Zell was curious at the color of the bath water.

"I caught Rinoa trying to leave us early," Selphie said saddly, and began casting Full Cure on Rinoa. Zell hung his head.

"Did you contact Akari?" Rinoa croaked.

"Yeah! She's on her way from Esthar as we speak. Laguna took the Ragnarok back there, to tend to matters. They'll be here in a couple of hours for......um....clean up," he said.

"Hello? Anybody here?" Rinoa knew that voice, and rushed for the front door of Matron's old house.

"Quisty!" Rinoa exclaimed, seeing her friend standing there, " I'm so glad you're here!" she embraced Quistis.

"Why? Where's Squall?" Quistis asked. Rinoa was at a loss of words. She knew Quistis had loved Squall like a brother, and knew there would be a time when she would have to give her the bad news. Quistis was fast, however, noticing the bloody towel, and the dried tears on Rinoa's face.

"Quisty? I think you should.....(choke)....see this," Seifer's voice came from outside.

"I...ah...I..." Quistis turned, and ran out the door.

Seifer took her by the arm, and led her up the path to the field of flowers next to Matron's house. On the way there, they incountered General Caraway's body.

"Hyne! That's...oh, hyne!" Quistis could hardly breathe.

"There's more...." Seifer seemed gloomy about something, what, she didn't know.

He led her up the red carpet, now darker red from blood. To the left, where she and Seifer would have been sitting was....."IRVINE!!!!!!!!" Quistis screamed, seeing one of her friends fallen on the ground. She didn't even have to check his pulse to know that he was dead. The pallid look of his skin, and the staring, blind eyes told her all she needed to know.

"Oh, hyne..." tears stung Quistis's cheeks. If Irvine was dead, that meant...."Squall!" she whispered, almost afraid to think it.

"He's......over here," Seifer said from behind her.

"Really? Squall!" she called out, and raced up to the alter, which Seifer was now facing. It had been too much to hope, however. There he lay, prone on the ground, with a look  of the likes Irvine had. His eyes were closed, and he looked quite peaceful. In fact, so peaceful she expected him to wake up at any moment. The ugly wounds in his chest told her otherwise. She propped him up, and held him to her, crying softly.

"He and I....we...didn't get along always but...." Seifer was crying. Quistis turned around. His eyes were red and puffy, but...he had never cried before.

"I know Seifer, I know..." and she embraced him, letting what used to be Squall drop back to the ground.

            "What the hell happened here?" Quistis burst in on Rinoa trying to get dressed. She was only in panties, but didn't mind, as her visitor was Quistis.

"One of the statues out there turned into Adel. She tried to kill me, but Squall took the fall. Irvine tried to defend Squall, but Adel threw spikes into the croud, killing a lot of people, including.....my dad," she said this in a most monotone voice, shocking Quistis. Rinoa had always been a perky, upbeat person. That just went to show exactly what kind of depression had set in. 

"Adel? We killed her...." Quistis was crestfallen.

"It's okay, Quisty. I know you loved Squall too, but......we can't dwell on him forever. Let's grieve now, but we eventually have to get back to our normal lives," Rinoa said, sounding wise beyond her seventeen years.

"Nothing...but nothing will be the same without Squall...." Quistis said ruefully.

"You talk about him like he was the most beautiful thing in the world," Rinoa embraced her.

"He was....." Quistis whispered into Rinoa's ear.

Three weeks later, Esthar: after Squall's, Irvine's and Caraway's funeral services.

            The door slid open to reveal a familiar face. One that had been scarred, and hardened from many years of battle. Laguna Loire smiled a Rinoa, and gestured for her to come in. She accepted his offer, and stepped through the door.

"Hello Rinoa, I've been expecti....." his mouth fell agape.

"What?" she smiled.

"I was just, um...thinking about your interesting choice of clothing....." he said. Rinoa now wore Squall's usual selection of clothes. She wore a white tee-shirt, covered by a black leather jacket. Over the tee, she wore both her's and Squall's Griever rings on a necklace. Black leather pants and two intersecting belts completed the outfit, not to mention black leather boots. All in all, she looked quite the female Squall.

"What did you come here for, Rinoa? I have...well... a lot of matters to tend to," Laguna began. 

"I've come to ask you a favor," she said plaintiffly, sitting down on a nearby couch. 

"What might that be?" he was suspicious.

"It's all in here..." she said, and handed him a small folder, taken from her jacket.

"Hmm.." he muttered, thoughtfully, reviewing what appeared to be schematics.

"You're not serious...." he looked up.

"Oh yes, quite. I need them built by the end of this month, " she said curtly. She would have her revenge on Adel. It would come swiftly, and justly. Laguna Loire, president of Esthar would be the instrument of Adel's destruction. Yes, all was going according to plan.

What's Rin up to? You'll have to wait for Chapter 5, coming soon, to find out. In the mean time, let me clear up a few things. When I said "wussies" at the beginning of this fic, I was just paying homage to Christopher Titus's father in "Titus". I meant no offense. This is my first fic, and seeing as how I'm turning sixteen soon, I don't think you should be that surprised. To all those writing increadible fics, keep writing, and don't let anybody discourage you. Peace!


	5. Preparations are made

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Chapter 5: Preperations are Made.

Construction had begun on the ships that she requested. Rinoa Heartilly watched as literally thousands of Esthar's technitions worked on several space craft identical to the Ragnarok. Laguna Loire, the president of Esthar, and the late Squall's father, stood next to her, tapping his foot. 

"I sure hope you know what you're doing," Laguna said worriedly. Just as she was about to answer him, and tell him that she knew what she was doing better than even he did, the elevator chimed behind her on the observation platform. The door slid open, revealing a beautiful young woman with dark brown hair, and deep green eyes.

"Akari!" Rinoa was pleased to see her.

"Hi, Rin. How's construction going?" Akari stepped out of the elevator.

"Just fine. How's the training going?"

"Well. It's going better than I planned. Zell's in charge of combat training, and I put Selphie in charge of pilot training. Without...um...Irvine around...I put Jek in charge of explosive and combat weapons training," she reported.

"Who's Jek?" Rinoa was curious.

"Oh, he's a transfer from Galbadia Garden. He and Irvine were close friends. He was at Irvine's funeral, don't you remember? The guy with the blue hair," she demonstrated this point by jabbing her finger towards her own hair.

"Oh....yeah..I saw him. So he and Irvine were good friends?"

"Yes. They were both about equally matched. Irvine was just a bit better," Akari sighed.

"So? Is it time for my weekly training session?" Rinoa perked up.

"Yes, I brought his weapon, and I brought my own. C'mon, let's go. I've got the Ragnarok on standby for us. Zone won't be too happy about me being late, so let's go."

"Zone is our pilot?" Rinoa narrowed her eyebrows.

"Yeah. He volunteered for the job," Akari said, and ushered Rinoa into the elevator.

"Who's the co-pilot?" Rinoa asked, as Akari poked one of the directional pads.

"Who do you think?" Akari cast her a wry grin.

"Not Watts..." Rinoa groaned.

"I'm afraid so. Hey, go easy on them. You guys were close friends, right?" Akari smiled.

"Oh yes. We were very close, but don't get me wrong. I just can't see Zone and Watts in pilot chairs, piloting me around. Are you sure they check out?"

"Of course they do. I trained them both myself. You know how good a pilot I am," Akari stood taller. Rinoa rolled her eyes in resignation, and stepped off the elevator first, as it came to the bottom floor. There, in the center of the hanger, sat the Ragnarok, still looking the same as it had when she and Squall had boarded it. There were happy memories on that ship. Rinoa cast those thoughts aside. She hadn't totally gotten over Squall, nor would she ever completely, but she had returned to her normal attitude and pace of life in the face of this horrible incident. She wore the kind of clothing Squall would as a sign to everyone. A sign that she would never love anyone else as long as she lived. At least she hoped that's what others thought when they saw her wearing those clothes. Rinoa climbed the boarding ramp, and noticed a large gash on the inner hull. She remembered where that came from.

"Squall and I were fighting a Propagator there, and it clawed the wall as it slashed at me. Squall stepped in its way, and sliced it's hand off, before it could hit him or me." she said suddenly to no one in particular.

"Really? I didn't know where that came from. I always thought it was one of those clumsy CC group members who used to inhabit this ship, during your time in the Compressed World," Akari shrugged, and turned to the right, where the elevator leading to the cockpit would be. 

The cockpit...Rinoa thought...more happy memories. That was the first time she had held Squall close. That was the first time that he hadn't pushed her away. That was the first time they had truly had interest in each other.

"......inoa!"

"Huh?" Rinoa shook her head, releasing the memory.

"Get on the elevator!" Akari scolded.

"Oh...ah...yeah." she said, and hopped on.

"What is wrong with you?" Akari insisted.

"Oh, just thinking about Squall..." Rinoa knew how to end the conversation, if her actions were ever being questioned. All she had to do was say she had been thinking about Squall, and everyone would leave her alone. Akari Yoshida wasn't one of those people.

"Rinoa. We've been over this plenty of times. Before practice, you shouldn't go to thinking about Squall," she put a hand on Rinoa's shoulder. They arrived in the cockpit.

"Rinoa! Long time no see!" Zone shouted, and hopped up from the pilots seat, arms outstretched. Rinoa hugged him, telling him it was good to see him, then sat down in one of the passenger seats nearby.

"Hi Rinoa," Watts said sheepishly from the co-pilot's chair. She smiled and returned his greeting, then slumped her head down on the control panel in front of her. 

"Where are we going this time 'Kari?" Rinoa asked.

"We're headed to one of those nearby plateaus," Akari said, pointing out the viewport. Rinoa looked out, and saw the barren landscape of Esthar before her. About two hundred miles ahead, she could just make out a plateau that stood out amongst the rest. So that was to be their place of battle. Good, she liked high altitude training. 

"Set her down," she heard Akari say, as they reached their destination quickly. The ship lurched to a halt, and Akari brushed past her, hopping on the elevator. It was always this way. Akari would go and prepare for the practice battle, and wait for Rinoa at the destination. After a few moments, Rinoa got up, and followed Akari out onto the plateau. Her weapon sat on the ground, deactivated. She picked it up anyway. She had gotten accustomed to the grip of the LionHeart gunblade, Squall's weapon. A week after he had been slain, she had asked Akari to train her in the art of the gunblade, since Akari was a well-known schollar in the art. Akari had reluctantly accepted, but had now grown fond of their practice fights. Akari activated her gunblade, which surged out as a beam of pink energy, provided by the pulse energy crystals inside the hilt. Rinoa followed suit, and activated hers, taking pleasure in the brilliant blue color of the blade. The two deadly females circled each other, looking for weaknesses in the other's defensive pose, holding their gunblades high above their heads. Rinoa began the battle. She ran forward, and executed a perfect " climhazzard " meneuver, stabbing at Akari, then leaping over her head. She landed perfectly on the ground, but was knocked down by Akari's " cross-slash" technique. Momentarily paralyzed, Rinoa could only watch as Akari came in for what they had dubbed the " killing blow ". One woman would tap the other in the back with their respective gunblade, and end the match. A new surge of energy entered Rinoa, and she rolled away, turning in mid-somersault. She came to her feet, and executed a 

" blade-beam " move, throwing some of the energy from her gunblade at Akari, who held up her voilet gunblade, and blocked the blow. It still sent her backwards a bit, her feet grinding into the ground. She gritted her teeth, and leapt into the air, summoning a volly of small meteoroids to crash down upon Rinoa...." meteorain " if she remembered correctly. Rinoa dodged the attack, and sped towards Akari. At the last possible moment, she leapt into the air, and hit Akari lightly with her gunblade, performing a perfect 

" rough divide " attack. Akari fell to the ground, quite reasonably stunned. Rinoa quickly junctioned Shiva, and cast Aura on herself. Instantly, she felt impowered. Akari got up, and leapt towards her. She stood her ground, waiting for the attack. When Akari got there, Rinoa side-stepped, allowing Akari to fly by, and hit the dirt behind her. Rinoa turned around, pointed her gunblade, and pulled the trigger. The sound was deafening. She didn't know how Squall could have stood it for so long. A plasma blast issued from the hilt of the blade. Akari was faster, however, and leaped into the air. The blast from the gunblade devastated the area she had just been standing in, leaving a crater the size of a Malboro in it's wake. When Rinoa turned around, she saw Akari had landed, and now glowed gold. She had cast Aura on herself, and was prepared to use her limit break, the deadly " omni-slash ". She rushed Rinoa, and began slashing faster than the eye could see. Rinoa deftly dodged each blow, making Akari angrier, so that she used the technique over and over. Finally, Rinoa backflipped, and landed ten meters away. She prepared her own limit break, one that she had seen Squall use countless times, and hoped she could master. She had been practicing it behind Akari's back, and now smirked knowing she had the edge, if she could pull it off. She now rushed Akari, and performed eight perfect slashes, which Akari barely blocked. Unexpectedly, Rinoa hit Akari with the gunblade as if it were a golf club. Akari soared into the air as a result of the concussion that the blade caused. Rinoa leaped into the air with her, and, while in mid air, executed seventeen spot-on cuts with her gunblade, tossing Akari this way and that. Finally, Rinoa soared towards Akari, and delivered the final cut, pulling the trigger of her gunblade as she did. The explosion was increadible, and could probably be seen all the way in Esthar City. Akari flew through the air, and landed rough on the ground below her. She did not get back up. Rinoa landed near her, strolled up casually, and tapped Akari on the back with the LionHeart. 

"Damn!" Zone exclaimed from the cockpit. He had been watching the whole battle with his mouth hanging open, nearly drooling. 

Rinoa cast Full Life on Akari, who woke up groaning.

"Are you okay?" Rinoa asked, giggling.

"I...uh...yeah..but my leg seems to be broken, and I think I might have a black eye."

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to...I.." Rinoa gasped.

"It's allright. It's good, actually. I was used to winning, so its's good that I finally got my ass kicked by someone like you. You've got what it takes, Rinoa. You're ready for battle," Akari said as Rinoa helped her up. 

Well, sorry to leave you without any info on what Rin's up to, but there was the fight scene...... Anyhow, chapter six will be up soon, so be expecting it. Everyone, thanks for your reviews. You all are incouraging me to write more, so I will....as soon as I finish this fifty-two chapter fic. There are forty-seven more chapters to go, so that will be a while. Catch you on the flip side!

ral space craft identical 


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